Members of the student government eliminated half of their meetings for the upcoming semester through a vote Wednesday night to begin conducting meetings every other week instead of once a week, as is current practice.
During the last Student Council meeting of the semester, the body passed the Coordinating Council sponsored item, which will come into effect when Student Council reconvenes in January.
Rep. Nancy Rydberg said the intention of the legislation was to allow for more time for productivity outside of meetings and said she felt it would allow for members to utilize this time better than during meetings, which she described as inefficient.
“Giving ourselves an extra week to talk to each other and work with committees is in the best interest of students and this council as a whole,” she said. “I think this backlog of legislation has nothing to do with the frequency of our meetings.”
Rep. Mia Akers said the idea was valid in theory but expressed concern that with the new meeting schedule, people would not necessarily utilize their time on their own unless mandated.
After debate, Student Council voted in favor of the item, which can be reversed or changed at any point in the future if the body votes to do so.
The governing body also addressed the Contract Services Process before Student Services Finance Committee Chair Sarah Neibart recommended tabling it to the next meeting at the request of Secretary Clay Thomas for formatting reasons.
SSFC Rep. Ellie Bruecker spoke to Student Council to explain the process before fielding questions from members of the body.
She said the CSP would allow for services to be contracted out through a bidding process involving SSFC, a procurement board and Student Council. She also stressed the CSP is in no way a solution to the problem facing Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group.
SSFC Rep. David Vines spoke out in open forum against the process, arguing it would open the university up to potential lawsuits and create unnecessary branches of government.
“I’m really concerned that this is a way to bypass the GSSF funding process and undermine SSFC,” Vines said. “It’s going to put us in a whole lot of legal problems.”
Neibart also encouraged members to contact her regarding the CSP legislation and said she wants people to understand why she has grown passionate about the issue when she initially opposed the Campus Service Fund last year.
After tabling the legislation, the council conducted a question and answer session with all four candidates up for nomination as the next Diversity Committee chair. Council voted to appoint Niko Magallon to fill the position. He has assumed the role of previous Chair Tangela Roberts.
Student Council also voted to pass legislation to shift funds to provide for a Coordinating Council retreat, as well as United States Student Association membership legislation, which will establish accountability guidelines to evaluate Associated Students of Madison’s association with regional and national organizations.
